


Something Stupid

by LittleLadyBigDreamer



Category: The Librarians (TV 2014)
Genre: Developing Relationship, Established Relationship, F/M, Firsts, Fluff, Humor, Karaoke, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-12
Updated: 2018-03-12
Packaged: 2019-03-30 03:35:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13941741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleLadyBigDreamer/pseuds/LittleLadyBigDreamer
Summary: Flynn struggles to contain his growing emotions.





	Something Stupid

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! So the idea for this fic came to me a couple weeks ago and I ran with it, and it was so much fun. To be honest I had a lot of help from Evlynn who seemed to just blurt out a lot of this which is why it ended up being so long - it was so much fun to feel that to be honest, these characters are so well written and brought to life that their back stories just flow out and it's great!
> 
> On that note, I'm so so upset about what TNT have done although we kind of knew from the start of the season. But hopefully someone realises how incredible this show is and picks it up. Good luck in trying to secure us a new home Dean!
> 
> Happy reading LITs!

It had been so nice. Everything had been going so smoothly, so normal. It was just your average date night, the same kind everyone else had and they were both enjoying it; normal was new for them and they liked the variety it brought them. 

They had a lovely dinner at an Italian restaurant in town. The food was great, there was a romantic softness to the ambiance, and he hadn't been able to stop looking at her all night, something which hadn't gone unnoticed by her. 

 _"Your food's going to get cold,"_ she'd said with an almost bashful grin.

They didn’t go home straight away. If they had he might not have done what he did. Instead they decided to take a stroll down the streets of Portland’s mildly populated town centre. It was a Thursday night so the usual crowds were mostly still at home, waiting eagerly for the weekend.

*

With the warm night air sweeping gently over them, they walked hand in hand, taking in the scenes the city had to offer and simply enjoying each other’s company. As they talked he realised that much of their conversation hadn’t revolved around work or their friends, it had just been about them, the things that they liked, they’d experienced. They were learning about each other.

It had surprised him. For years the Library and all the magic surrounding it had been his life and yet with her he could hold a conversation about things that hadn’t been normal to him for years. And even during the moments when they did talk about the Library, she spoke so affectionately and it dawned on him how much he really needed someone to share it all with. She filled all the gaps in his life and things were just better with her around.

It was still going okay when they stopped for ice cream, even better when he couldn’t decide between three flavours and so she picked the one he’d left behind just so he could have all three. He was so dazed by her actions, unable to believe someone would go out of their way that much for him.

_If he hadn’t been so focused on eating his ice cream he probably would’ve done it then._

As it happened he got a bit too enthusiastic with his ice cream eating and abruptly stopped his rambling when a slab of peanut butter swirl coated his nose. He peered down at it as best he could, mildly offended. A moment later Eve’s finger swept the length of his nose and she licked the tip of it, allowing herself a quick taste.

“Mm. That’s good. Now I know why you took so long to decide,” she stated wearing a smirk.

All he could do was grin back, eyes locked on hers.

“Would you like anymore?” he asked pointedly.

“No thanks,” she replied. “I’ll just wait until the next time you throw it in your face.”

 

_By the time they got back to the car, desserts finished, hands still laced together, he was thinking it._

The ride home was a combination of ridiculous and hilarious. Their CD of choice was one Cassandra had made when they’d had a mission that required a road trip. Naturally he insisted they had to sing along despite Eve’s protests.

Eve’s first belly laugh came when Flynn decided he would mirror Bon Jovi’s pre-chorus yell during _Living on a Prayer_. It was more a screech than a lyric but he tried, probably for no other reason than to make her laugh.

As he continued to belt out the chorus he grabbed her hand, pulling it to his chest as he sang, “TAKE MY HAND, WE’LL MAKE IT I SWEEAARRR!”  

“Two hands on the wheel!” she reminded him repeatedly.

“OHHHHHHH! LIVIN’ ON A PRAYYYEERRR!”

“Flynn!” she yelled through her laughter.

“I am living on a prayer, Eve!” he defended.

“You won’t be living at all if you don’t drive safely.”

“Eve don’t worry,” he said more seriously. “We’ll make it. I swear.”

“You’re such an idiot,” she muttered with a grin.

 

A couple of songs later Flynn had his own chance to play the audience when the twanging of a guitar signalled the beginning of _Sweet Home Alabama_ , and Eve began nodding her head and moving her leg to the beat, her lips curling up into a large smile.

He watched with awe as she began singing the first few lines. At first she sang quietly to herself, staring out the window as the town ran by them, but it was enough for him to revel in the melodiousness of her voice.

His grin grew as he caught the twinge of a Southern drawl in her accent as she sang. Granted the song encouraged it but there was something about the way she so easily dipped into it that made him think it wasn’t new to her. He was about to query it when she suddenly bellowed out the chorus, apparently unable to hold it in any longer.

“...Sweet home Alabama. Lord I’m comin’ home to you!” she cried, head banging a little harder now as Flynn watched in amusement. “God I forgot how much I love this song.”

“I didn’t realise just how much you loved it,” Flynn retorted with a wide grin.

Eve winced a little. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scream it at you. I guess I got a little into it.”

“Happens to the best of us,” he replied. “Hey, did I notice a bit of an accent there?”

Blushing just ever so slightly she nodded at him. “Georgia for eighteen months, South Carolina for six, Texas for three years on and off, and Alabama,” she grinned. “Just over a year.”

“Oh so this is like your jam?” he teased.

“Kinda,” she laughed. “That’s how dad tried to sell it to me, the move. I um, I learnt the lyrics before we’d even finished packing boxes. I was convinced the song was going to be their own state anthem and that I’d be committing some sort of treason if I didn’t know it.”

“Oh that is adorable!”

Her head in her hands she mumbled, “I’ve never told anyone that.”

“Your secret is safe with me,” he promised with a wink. As the music picked up again towards the chorus, he turned the volume up and said, “Go for it.”

With a laugh she took a deep breath before crying, _“_ Sweet home Alabama! Where the skies are so blueee!”

“That’s it, there we go,” Flynn aided, nodding along with her.     

 

A few minutes later the opening beats to _Can’t Take My Eyes off You_ stirred Flynn and he got ready to sing his heart out once more, hoping to persuade Eve to join in with him. _(Later he wondered if it would have been poignant to sing the song directly at her.)_

His rendition, done in his best Andy Williams voice and including the personalised line, “and I thank god I’m alive becauseIwasstabbedbymybestfriendandalmostdieeedddd”, was cut short when his gaze drifted to the corner of the street he was turning into and he suddenly pulled over.

“What are we doing? What happened?” Eve asked with a Guardian’s concern.

“Look!” he replied excitedly, eyes wide and eager.

Her gaze focused upon where he was pointing. “The park?” she queried.

“Yeah, come on let’s go,” he replied, already unbuckling his seatbelt.

“What? I’m in a dress! And heels!” she had to shout back because he was already out of the car.

“I’ve seen you fight people in that,” he retorted, calling back over his shoulder. 

With a reluctant sigh she followed him into the small woefully gated playground, treading carefully across the soft padding of the poured rubber ground.

"C'mere," he gestured with a little nod of his head as he stood behind a swing, patting its seat.

"Seriously?" Eve's brow raised though her dimple belied her apprehension. 

"What you don’t trust me?" he shot back with a challenging grin.

"I trust you the most," she revealed honestly. 

Stepping closer to the swing and an overly excited Flynn, she took her place on the seat, curling her fingers around the tired, rust-ridden chains that were to be her only source of safety save for the trusted Librarian behind her.

"Ready?" he asked, leaning in right by her ear, his breath ghosting over her skin.

"Yep," she smiled over her shoulder at him.

Just as he was pulling back to create enough momentum for a steady rhythm she suddenly cried, "Oh wait! 

Mildly panicked he shuffled forward, shoes scuffing the ground, and stopped any motion the swing had begun. "What is it?" he asked with concern.

"Wanna take my shoes off," Eve beamed back at him, giving her legs a little wave.

Flynn's shoulders drooped in relief. "I thought something happened!" 

"Oh. Sorry," she winced. 

With a smile Flynn came around to face her before dropping to his knees. Gently he pulled each of her black heels off, placing them by the heavy metal pole that dug itself into the ground, keeping the whole swing set secure. 

"Better?"

"Mmhmm," she nodded. 

"Good," he said as he rose, leaving a peck to the tip of her nose before returning to his earlier position behind her. 

Once more he held the seat tight, pulling it towards him as he stepped backwards. After a few steps he let go and watched as Eve shot forward, the pandemonium making her hair drift up then float back down to her shoulders. After a couple of swings he gave it another push, sending her into the breeze once more, smiling when he heard a small laugh escape her.

"Okay you got me," she called out to him. "I forgot how much fun this is."

"Should i start imagining a little blonde girl in dungarees and pigtails touring our nation’s parks?" he queried with a grin, thinking of how adorable baby Eve would’ve been.

"No dungarees. Not in Alaska anyway."

"Ah of course."

"You know don’t be afraid to go a little harder Librarian," Eve declared a moment later.

Flynn couldn’t help but grin. In a low voice he said, "Is that advice for now or later?"

Eve's own smirk had grown at his words. "You’re assuming there’s going to be a later."

_(She had accepted his cheekiness, put him in his place, and flirted back with that twinkle in her eye all at the same time. He was surprised he hadn’t done it then.)_

“So are you not joining me Librarian?” she said a moment later, tearing her still grinning face away from his and motioning to the empty swing beside her.

“I’m not exactly athletic,” he replied somewhat ruefully.

The laugh that she let out in response did little to subdue the fluttering within him and he knew that that sound was one he wanted to hear forever.

“It’s hardly an Olympic sport,” she laughed.

“Still, I think I’m safer here.”

“Am I supposed to be imagining a little messy haired boy sitting on a park bench reading while all the other kids run around doing their best to give themselves grass stains?” she queried, mirroring his earlier comment.

“Nooo,” he insisted. “Not when I was little little anyway.”

“When you were _little_ little?”

Flynn nodded.

“My dad used to bring me to the park.” The softness of the sorrowful expression she bore as her swinging slowed didn’t go unnoticed by him. “I was a bookworm even then but he still played around with me, tried to teach me about sports and whatnot. I think he thought he owed it to me, father and son thing you know.” She nodded, listening intently. “I didn’t mind, I liked learning. I wasn’t great but I had fun, and I could tell he enjoyed it. That made me love it more.”

“And then you stopped? Liking it?” she questioned softly. “After he...”

He nodded again. “I mean, even with my memory I can’t pinpoint exactly what I was feeling at that time but...yeah, I think so. It had never been about the park itself.”

“It was just your thing, your time together when he was home,” she completed for him.

He almost looked up at her in complete awe until he remembered that she was the daughter of a military man. It was inevitable that she would have similar memories. He was tempted to satisfy his curiosity regarding those memories but decided not to press her, it probably wasn’t his place to ask and besides they were on a date and he’d already dampened the spirit.

“Anyway,” he let out a breath and stood tall. “Apparently you wanted more adventure Colonel Baird.”

Before she had a chance to reply he pushed at her seat with a much greater force and she was sent flying up higher than she had earlier, a little surprised cry escaping her.

“Flynn!” he heard her cry from a couple of feet up. “A little warning would’ve been nice!”

“You asked!” he exclaimed in return giving her another forceful push, lips curling into a wide smile as he watched her laugh.

“My stomach is swirling!” she yelled as she whooshed by him before being sent up once more. “I _do not_ remember this happening as a kid. When does this start happening?!”

In that moment he was unable to do anything except just watch her in both amusement and awe as she swayed back and forth, the toned muscles in her long legs displayed as she swung them almost reflexively with each swift motion, her hair wafting gently around her.  

As she veered back towards him the sudden thought that she might crash into him had entered his mind and he hurriedly stepped back. She missed him by a good few inches but it had got him wondering with a sly smirk on his face.

The next time she edged towards him he let out a pained cry and doubled over, causing her to flail her legs about momentarily until she could reach the floor and force herself to come to a complete stop.

Jumping off the swing she rushed over to him, bending over at an angle mirroring his, one hand resting at the small of his back.

“Are you okay?!” she cried.

“Not really,” he strained to reply, seeming to gasp for air.

“What happened? Did I hurt you?!”

He simply gestured to his abdomen, wincing as he moved.

“Oh god! Did I smack you?” His nod in response left her wide eyed as guilt set in. “Oh my god I am so sorry! Come here, sit down.”

She attempted to usher him to the still slightly swaying seat she had previously occupied only for him to shout out once more when he moved.

“Oh god! Shit! Okay!” she yelled, raising her hands as though putting them anywhere near him would be fatal. “What do you want to do? Stay standing? Try and sit down? Do we need to call an ambulance?!”

He shook his head, letting his panting steady just a tad. “Don’t worry,” he wheezed.

At that she practically melted in front of him. “Oh god, I just smacked you in the stomach and you’re still being nice!”

Tears then began to well in her eyes and his own panic set in.

“Oh god no Eve don’t cry,” he said, rising until he was standing properly once again.

Doing a double take, she blinked away the tears and stared at him, taking in the fact that he seemed to no longer be in excruciating pain.

“I was just faking, I didn’t mean to make you cry-“

“Flynn!” she yelled, sending a slug to his arm. “I thought I hurt you!”

“Sorry! I just thought it would be amusing,” he defended, immediately gripping his wounded bicep.

He noticed that tears were still lining those stormy eyes that he adored, her cheeks were flushed pink, and a little frown sat between her brows. Edging forward he reached for her arm, gently pulling her close.

“I scared you didn’t I?” he asked softly.

She nodded, swallowing. “I don’t like it when you’re hurt,” she confessed weakly. “I really don’t like it when I’m the reason you’re hurt.”

Once again he found himself staring at her like she was a rare type of magic he’d never seen before.

For most of his life he’d been terrified of being hurt, at one point it had been what he was used to and so he’d thrown up his walls and refrained from letting anyone in. _Don’t let anyone in, don’t get hurt._ It was simple logic. But Judson had been right when he’d told Eve that being alone had changed Flynn.

But Eve, Eve had come along and before he knew it his walls were crumbling. She read him like the books he so loved, accepted his weird as wonderful. She put her trust in him and he’d done the same. During the time they’d gotten to know each other, professionally and personally, they’d shared many things but it was only now he realised that just as her joy was his, so too was his pain hers.

 _She really cares_ , he thought.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear. “I didn’t mean to upset you, I’m not a fan of you being hurt either, but I like that me not being hurt means so much to you.”

“Me too,” came her reply entwined with a soft smile.

He hovered for a moment, continuing to stare into her eyes, wondering how he’d gotten to be so lucky before dipping his head forward and leaving a kiss to her lips.

“Shall we go?” he asked. “No more pit stops I promise.”

With a small chuckle she nodded, replying with a quiet, “yeah.”

Managing to tear herself away from him, Eve headed over to where her shoes still sat by the one of the swings poles. She swiftly reached down to grab them but as she rose again her finger lost its grip and one of her heels shot out from her hold and flew a few yards away.

The resulting yelp from Flynn who was subsequently rubbing his shoulder left Eve wincing.

At first anyway.

It took only a few seconds for her to cover her mouth with her hands and stifle the laugh that so badly wanted to escape.

“Oh my god,” she managed to utter between sniggers. “I am _so_ sorry. Are you okay?”

She hurried over to him once more as Flynn shot her an offended frown. “I said I was sorry,” he muttered. “There was no need to retaliate.”

“I didn’t do it on purpose!” she insisted. “It just slipped out of my hand.”

“And smacked me in the shoulder? Convenient. I think the damn heel actually got my face Eve. I could be scarred for life.”

As he expected, she rolled her eyes. “Well maybe this is karma in which case you have only yourself to blame.”

He chose to ignore her, instead wittering, “I feel like I’m bleeding. Am I bleeding?”

Peering closer at the base of his jaw Eve noted the tiny scratch that was nothing like the bloody gash her over-dramatic Librarian was probably imaging.

“Just a scratch,” she informed him.

He was about to reply when she pressed her lips to the injured area.

“Sorry,” she winced slightly again. “All better?”

The excitement of her lips against his skin still sending a tingling through him, he answered, “Might need another one of those.”

Laughing, she leaned closer again and kissed the same spot.

She picked up the offending shoe, placing both articles back on her feet, then reached for Flynn’s hand, granting him a smile before leading him towards the park’s exit.

As they passed by a large spiral slide, he gave her hand a quick squeeze to grab her attention. Nodding towards it he grinned and asked, “One for the road?”

“No,” she firmly shook her head. “I think we’ve had enough injuries for one night, besides we have too much limb going on between us for that be a good idea.”

As she continued to drag him away he looked up longingly at the brightly coloured slide. “We will return to you, one day,” he said melodramatically.

Laughing to herself, Eve shook her head while muttering, “Dork.”     

 

The short ride to Eve’s apartment (directly to Eve’s apartment, no pit stops as promised) was less energetic than the previous drive. This time the melodic voices were a soft hum in the background, with Eve occasionally gently murmuring a few lines and Flynn watching her in wonderment.

In less than ten minutes they reached her apartment and he pulled in to an available space just by a street light. Before Eve had even a chance to grab her bag and unbuckle her belt, Flynn was by her side, holding the door open ready for her – she wasn’t even surprised by how fast he moved anymore.

She took the hand he was also holding out, flashing him yet another smile as she stepped out of his car. “Thanks,” she said, the corners of her eyes crinkling.

“You are very welcome,” he replied, beaming.

Almost immediately she hooked her arm through his, as she did almost habitually now, and slowly they walked across the sidewalk to her apartment.

Reluctantly he slipped his arm from hers as they reached the few steps that lead up to her front door, allowing her to reach for her keys.

Pulling her keys from her purse Eve unlocked her door then spun around on the top step and gazed at Flynn who stood waiting patiently on the step below.

“You coming in?” she enquired, nodding to the apartment behind her.

Flynn looked longingly over her shoulder at the place he’d already spent so much time in, the place he’d come to love and feel so at home in.

“I’d love to,” he answered. Regret etched into his features as he added, “But you were fighting imps at three in the morning.”

“Damn things,” she muttered, still feeling hostile over the reason she and Stone had been forced out of bed so early.

He let out a little puff of laugh at her apparent grievance. “So I should let you sleep.”

“What makes you think that if you came in sleeping isn’t exactly what we’d do,” she teased with a smirk.

His own lips had curled up at the corners, as he let out a soft chuckle. Raising a brow he replied, “Well you know, you talk a lot so I assume there’d be a good amount of that.”

“Hey,” she protested, smacking him lightly with her purse. “I think we know who out of the pair of us takes that title.”

“Kidding,” Flynn laughed, slightly distracted by the glint in her eyes.

He brought his hand up to her hair, brushing back a few fallen strands, and his expression softened as he gazed into her stormy eyes.

“You know if I did come in and you were tired I’d just let you sleep anyway right?” he said in a soft whisper.

Eve simply stared at him in wonderment, the butterflies she rarely let herself believe she got beginning to flip around in her stomach. They’d been seeing each other for a while, had been colleagues for just a bit longer than that, and had journeyed through various milestones in their relationship, and yet he never ceased to amaze her. 

“Do you ever just put yourself first?” she asked. “Do you ever just stop saving the world and think about what _you_ want?”

Her awed gaze and moving words were enough to make a soft blush rise to his cheeks, and he smiled sheepishly.

“I’ve been doing the job for so long I don’t think I’d know how,” he confessed with a shrug.

Reaching for his hand, she pulled him up to meet her, and with the hint of a grin at her lips she closed the distance between them.

Whenever Eve kissed him Flynn’s mind seemed to simply stop, his endless thoughts and bundles of knowledge settling themselves away in a place he didn’t know existed. A warmth flowed through him when her lips twined with his and he was sure that somehow in these moments she was speaking to him, communicating all her feelings, calming and stimulating him all at once, and filling him with a sense of security he hadn’t dared to let himself have for a long time.

When she pulled away he found himself frowning and leaning forward for more. Somewhat distantly he heard her chuckle before she pressed her lips to his for another quick peck.

He could’ve continued standing there kissing her but his body chose that moment to remind him to breathe, and as he gulped in the night air he flickered his eyes open.

When he did he found Eve grinning, half in victory, half in amused adoration. 

“I love it when you do that,” he declared, letting out a deep breath.

This elicited another laugh from her. “Sure you don’t wanna stay Librarian?”

“No,” he shook his head before realising how exactly she’d worded her question. Shaking his head to set his brain back in motion, he hurriedly corrected himself. “Yes. Sleep. You need sleep.”

Taking her hands in his he gave them a quick squeeze before placing a kiss to the back of one.

“Breakfast tomorrow?” he proposed.

“I’d like that,” she answered honestly.

“Where’d you want to go? Paris, Milan, ooh Geneva for a different view?”

“Portland is just fine,” she chuckled.

“Alright,” he feigned disappointment. “Well call me when you’re up. I’ll come get you.”

“Flynn I have a car.”

“So do I. I like picking you up.”

“Careful, I might get used to you doing that,” she warned playfully.

“You should,” he replied.

He half expected the eye roll she gave him in response, though the cute smile she couldn’t help but wear was lovely, he noted.

“Go to sleep okay?” he instructed. “Don’t wait for me to get in or check in on the others. They’re fine.”

 _God, he knew her so well_. “Flynn,” she began.

“ _Go to bed_ ,” he reiterated.

“Fine,” she relented.

He turned to head back to the car but just as he treaded onto the step below, he felt her hand on his arm. Immediately he turned back to her, curiosity etched into his features.

“Baseball,” she said in almost a whisper.

His brows furrowed together. “What?”

“That was my thing. With my dad.”

 _Ah_. He nodded in understanding.

“Whenever he was home and there was a game we’d sit and watch it together. He’d always run out and grab tonnes of pretzels and chips. He’d have a beer, I’d get soda. And if I didn’t quite understand things, he’d teach me. He told me all about the classic games that were written into history and who from what team was shaping up to be the next star.”

He noted the slight appearance of the dimple in her cheek as she relayed her memories. 

“Sometimes he’d take me to go watch actual games, doesn’t matter who it was, we never stayed in one place long enough to really be able to have a home team. But he’d always go all out and make sure we had the best time. When he was away and called home I’d tell him about the games I’d watched. Even as I got older, I’d be the first thing I told him when we talked. He didn’t even have to ask, I’d just blurt it out.”

Flynn watched as her smile suddenly faded.

“Then one day he took me to a game, just before my thirteenth birthday, and it was great. He’d been home a little longer than usual and just thought it was because my birthday was coming up. But on the way home he told me he was going away again and that he wouldn’t be home for my birthday.”

“Panama?” Flynn queried, his quick math and historical knowledge allowing her story to become clearer.

Eve nodded. “He left two days later.”

Flynn took her hand, his thumb brushing small strokes over it. “And now? Is it your thing?”

Once more she nodded, trying to hold back the tears in her eyes. “Not as much as it used to be, I guess I don’t really go see them that much but...yeah.”

He leaned forward and placed a soft kiss to her head, just below her hairline. Eve’s eyes closed momentarily at his touch.

“You want me to stay?” he offered.

She shook her head with a little sniff. “No you’re right, I should sleep. I’m probably over tired.” Gripping his hand a little tighter she added, “You know, I didn’t tell you because I wanted sympathy or anything.”

“I know,” Flynn responded immediately, squeezing her hand just as tight.

And he did. He knew that Eve got it, she got him. She knew what it had taken for him to share his memories with her and she wanted him to know that she appreciated it, but also that she understood, that he wasn’t alone. More than that, she wanted him to know that she trusted him enough to open up to him herself.

“You’re a good person Flynn,” she whispered, her gaze locked with his.

“Remember that the next time you’re mad at me,” he replied with a grin, earning a laugh from her. “I’ll see you in the morning?”

“Yeah,” she nodded.

“It doesn’t have to be the morning though,” he hastily added. “If you wanna sleep in. We can do brunch, or lunch or something else.”

“Flynn...” she almost chided.

“Okay, alright,” he uttered, beginning to move backwards down the steps. “Goodnight.”

“Night,” she offered in reply.

_He could’ve just stopped there, no other words needed to be said. It would’ve all been fine. Right there, at that exact moment. If he had just walked straight to his car without opening his mouth._

_But he didn’t._

Reaching the bottom step he called back over his shoulder, “Have a good sleep. See you tomorrow.”

_And then..._

“Love you.”

 

He stood frozen on the spot, his back still to her, head facing just enough away from her that he didn’t have to look directly at her. Briefly he considered turning right around and spluttering a nine minute explanation to her. He moved to do so, opening his mouth and hoping actual words would effortlessly flow out and help him. But they didn’t. His mouth simply opened and closed a few times as though he were in the hands of a puppeteer, before he finally thought better of it all and spun on his heels again.

She hadn’t broken the awful silence they’d been plundered into so maybe she hadn’t heard him. He had been nearing his car, and the wind had picked up a little so maybe his words had been swept away into the night. Maybe she’d even simply misheard him, like and love weren’t too dissimilar, maybe she’d heard that. ‘Like you’ was totally something people said. It was completely plausible that he’d said that.

Or not.

Whatever the case was, he decided (whether correctly or not) that the best thing for him to do was continue to his car and hurry home.    

*

So here he was, lying across the length of his couch, his shoes kicked off by one end of it, his jacket and waistcoat thrown over its back. He’d picked up a book that he’d been reading in the hope of forgetting his faux pas but for once the book couldn’t steal his focus.

It wasn’t that he didn’t mean what he said, he did, he definitely did. He’d known for a while how he felt about her, he just didn’t know if _she_ was ready to hear it. He could’ve waited a little longer, settled her in a bit, built up to it.

A few days after meeting her he’d told her he trusted her, more than he’d been able to trust anyone in a long time. He’d meant it.

He’d learnt not to depend on people, and that they probably wouldn’t stick around. But Eve had dug her heels in from her first day in the Library and insisted she wasn’t going anywhere. Time and again he gave her reason to leave and yet she stayed. During that time he’d come to realise that he didn’t want her to go, he wanted her around, he wanted to depend on her.

Since she’d come into his life he felt almost rejuvenated. In his time alone he felt as though he was drowning in an abyss but Eve had grabbed him and pulled him back out, bringing him back to life and very often smacking into him the common sense that sometimes got lost in the chaotic jungle that was his mind.

And he’d welcomed it. Admittedly somewhat reluctantly. But that was half the fun of it; the bantering and bickering, being unnecessarily annoying and earning himself an eye roll before flashing her a dorky smile and knowing a second later he’d get one in return.

He loved it. Every moment he spent with Eve he loved. How much he’d grown with her, how she accepted his flaws as simple characteristics, he loved all of it. He’d even grown fond of the others, valuing their abilities and understanding that he didn’t have to carry the weight of saving the world on his own anymore. He loved the light she’d brought into his life. He even loved the way she shut him up. He loved _her_.

But he might have just ruined all of that. He probably scared her, just throwing it out like that. He didn’t even look her in the eye and say it. Everything they’d built together was in jeopardy because as usual he’d said too much too fast.

With a sigh he stared up at the ornate ceilings of his Library apartment, resigning himself to the fact that the rest of his night would be filled with anxiety and replays of that fateful moment.

Smacking his hand to his head he winced and muttered, “Idiot.”

 

It was about two minutes later that there was a knock on his door.

Eyes flickering towards it, Flynn frowned. He reached for his phone to check whether the other Librarians had messaged him, needing his help. When his screen told him that they hadn’t he laid his book on the table, swinging his legs off the couch with a sigh. It was probably Jenkins, he had a tendency to potter about at all hours.

Running a hand through his unruly hair, Flynn strolled over to the door. Swinging it open he readied himself for the query the grumpy but loveable caretaker had for him.

“Eve?” he exclaimed in surprise when his eyes fell upon her instead of the suit-clad knight he was expecting. She stood somewhat nervously before him, still in the blue knee-length dress she’d worn for their date. “What are you-?”

“I love you too!” she blurted out, cutting him off.

Flynn simply blinked at her, unable to believe that she was actually saying what he thought she was. 

“You- uh...I,” he stammered.

“I do,” she continued, letting out a breath so deeply it seemed she might have been holding it for days. “I really do. And I probably should’ve said it earlier but I- I didn’t expect you to say it, not that I don’t feel loved by you because I do, all the time but I mean you did kind of throw it at me- which is fine! I’m glad that you said it because I really really love spending time with you, at work and at home and- well I actually feel like I have a home because of you and I have friends and a family. There’s just something about you that makes me feel okay, even when I’m sad or scared. You can just say one thing and I feel better. I trust that it’s going to be okay because I trust _you_. And I know we’ve had our fights but that’s how I knew. I hated fighting with you and I hated not being with you. It’s just always better when you’re there. You annoy the hell out of me sometimes but I love that, it’s what makes us us. And so when you said it earlier I had to take a minute to process it but as soon as I did I knew I had to come over, so that you knew all of this, so you knew that, that I love you Flynn. I love you.”

She stared at him, swallowing hard as she attempted to regain her breath, waiting for some kind of response.

Her wait wasn’t a long one. The next moment, with one hand slipping to the back of her neck, the other around her waist, Flynn pulled her close and kissed her hard.

As a surprised gasp escaped her, Eve responded in kind, curling both arms around his neck, holding him flush against her.   

They sipped longingly at each other, lips gliding over one another with a soft intensity, tongues beginning to tangle as the kiss deepened, and each held the other tight, almost promising in their embrace to never let the other go.

“Told you you talk a lot,” Flynn said breathlessly when they finally parted.

“Shut up,” Eve laughed, throwing a light smack to his chest.

With a light tug to her arm Flynn pulled her against him, wrapping his arms around her. She burrowed into his chest and wrapped her arms around him, smiling when she felt his lips press a kiss to her head. “God am I glad you said it back,” he confessed with relief. “I was-“

“Panicking?” she completed his sentence.

He let out a laugh. “Was it that obvious?”

“You pretty much had your back to me but I still could tell you looked like a rabbit in headlights,” she chuckled. As he winced she peered up at him and added, “A very cute rabbit.”

“If by cute you mean sexy then I wholly agree with you,” he declared.

“Oh right sorry. Sexy, I meant sexy rabbit,” she corrected.

“I thought so.”

With some reluctance he pulled his arms from around her, instead clutching her hand and taking her over to the couch where he’d lay in dismay ten minutes earlier.

“C’mere,” he murmured.

Settling himself down across its length once more, he tugged on Eve’s hand, advising her to do the same.

Without hesitation Eve kicked off her heels and joined him, snuggling up against him as his arms curled around her, keeping her safe in her favourite place.

“You know something?” Flynn asked as he watched her fingers dance across his chest, weaving around the buttons of his shirt.

“What?” she asked curiously.

“I’m not going to stop saying it to you now.”

“Saying what?”

“I love you,” he stated as though it was the easiest thing he’d ever said, and some ways it was.

“Good. Cause I like hearing you say it,” she revealed with a smile. “Hey so how about we just lie in tomorrow and have breakfast right here?”

“Oh you’re just inviting yourself over now?” he teased.

After giving him another playful slug Eve pushed herself up, hovering almost on top of him and kissed him hard, her hand cupping his cheek, thumb brushing slowly over his jaw.

Pulling away she murmured in a low voice, “I’m allowed to invite myself over, I love you.”

“You what now?” Flynn grinned.

“I love you,” she reiterated, their gazes locked together.

“Sorry you’re gonna have to repeat that,” he feigned ignorance as Eve’s smile grew.

“I. Love. You,” she said once more, punctuating each word with a firm kiss to his lips.

“God it sounds so much better when you say it,” Flynn confessed just before Eve crashed her lips onto his.

Hooking a leg over his, Eve straddled Flynn as she continued to kiss him, the emotions she’d held onto for far too long finally flowing out.

Flynn only just registered Eve’s movement, too lost in the sensation of her lips locked with his own, her fingers gripping his hair. He was however aware enough to run one hand over her back, encouraging the waves that were already rippling down her spine, while the other edged up her thigh, gently pushing up her dress, signalling if they didn’t know already, how the rest of their evening would be spent.   

**Author's Note:**

> Anything and everything is appreciated :) x


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